Ong's Clinic is a second-generation family medicine practice on the ground floor of Burlington Square at 175 Bencoolen Street, in Singapore's Bugis area. Founded on 14 July 1961 by Dr Ong Yong Khee — first at 129 Albert Street, later at Albert House on Short Street — the clinic has spent more than six decades as the neighbourhood's 'family doctor', building a long-standing rapport with residents of Rochor, Selegie, Queen Street and Waterloo Street, and today welcoming students from NAFA, Lasalle, SOTA and SMU as well as visitors from nearby hotels.
The founder's early years at Middle Road Hospital, the precursor to the National Skin Centre, gave the clinic a lasting speciality in skin conditions, alongside respiratory care such as asthma and acute upper respiratory tract infections. Since 2008 it has been run by his son, Dr Fabian Ong Chon-Kin (MB BCh BAO, Ireland; GDFM, Singapore), a family physician with over 20 years in primary healthcare whose special interests include dermatology, respiratory tract infections and women's health, particularly fungal and bacterial vaginal infections. He also mentors medical students interested in Family Medicine and has joined medical mission trips to Thailand, Cambodia, Timor-Leste and Indonesia, setting up mobile clinics in remote regions.
Services are organised into General Services, Health Screening and Procedures, with support for CHAS, Healthier SG and Medisave, and insurance panels including Alliance Healthcare, MHC and IHP. Weekday hours run 8.30am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 5pm, with evening clinics on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday until 9pm; Saturday is 9am to 1pm, and the clinic is closed on Sundays and public holidays. A walk-in option is available — for queries, call (65) 6337 1814, WhatsApp (65) 93934301, or email [email protected].
Some neighbourhood clinics come and go. Ong's Clinic has been part of the fabric of Singapore's city fringe for more than six decades. Today found on the ground floor of Burlington Square at 175 Bencoolen Street, this second-generation family practice styles itself simply as 'Your Family Doctor' — and for generations of patients in Bugis, Rochor and the surrounding streets, that is exactly what it has been.
Ong's Clinic was set up by Dr Ong Yong Khee on 14 July 1961 at 129 Albert Street — an address later reassigned as Block 13 Short Street, #01-129 Albert House. Dr Ong had begun practising in 1956 at the now-defunct Middle Road Hospital, the precursor to today's National Skin Centre. That background shaped the young clinic's character: the founder developed a special interest in treating skin conditions, and was also well known for managing respiratory conditions such as asthma and acute upper respiratory tract infections.
Over the years the clinic built a long-standing rapport with residents and families around Rochor, Selegie, Queen Street and Waterloo Street. Its catchment now stretches from long-time neighbourhood families to undergraduates — the clinic regularly sees students from NAFA, Lasalle College of the Arts, SOTA and SMU — as well as visitors staying in the hotels nearby.
Since 2008 the clinic has been led by the founder's son, Dr Fabian Ong Chon-Kin, a family physician with more than 20 years of experience in Singapore's primary healthcare sector. Dr Ong graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1998 and obtained his Graduate Diploma in Family Medicine from the National University of Singapore in 2006 — mentored along the way by his late father, whose work and medical skills he continues today.
Dr Fabian Ong's special interests include dermatology conditions, respiratory tract infections, and women's health — in particular the treatment of fungal and bacterial vaginal infections. He also has a keen interest in education, teaching medical students who want to learn more about Family Medicine and primary healthcare. And his commitment to care extends well beyond Bencoolen Street: he has joined multiple medical mission trips to Thailand, Cambodia, Timor-Leste and Indonesia, setting up mobile clinics in remote regions and educating communities on health and hygiene. Outside the clinic he enjoys mountain biking and time with his family.
Care is organised around three pillars listed on the clinic's services page: General Services for everyday GP needs, Health Screening for preventive checks, and Procedures for in-clinic treatment. Where subsidies apply, patients can tap them: the clinic participates in CHAS, Healthier SG and Medisave, and is on the insurance panels of Alliance Healthcare, MHC and IHP.
The clinic keeps long weekday hours: Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 12.30pm and again from 2pm to 5pm, with evening clinics on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 6.30pm to 9pm. Saturday runs from 9am to 1pm, and the clinic is closed on Sundays and public holidays. A walk-in option is available, and queries can be made by telephone at (65) 6337 1814, WhatsApp at (65) 93934301, or email at [email protected].
Six decades on, much has changed around Albert Street, Burlington Square and the quarters in between — but inside this small clinic the idea remains much the same as it was in 1961: a doctor who knows his patients, their families and their histories, treating each visit as continuity rather than transaction.